Kompany: Man City gave Barca too much respect

Wednesday 19 February 2014

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has said his side gave Barcelona too much time and space on the ball in the 2-0 Champions League defeat on Tuesday, ESPN has reported.

City went down to a Lionel Messi penalty and a Dani Alves strike, both in the second-half, with Martin Demichelis dismissed in the incident that saw Messi awarded the spot kick. Kompany however feels City didn’t make enough of a game of it when the sides were level.

The centre-back added that City now face a very difficult proposition to qualify for the next stage, needing to go to Camp Nou and score at least twice, but Kompany doesn’t feel it’s an impossible task.

“It's very tough. By no means did we feel they were superior to us,” Kompany said. “When it was 11 v 11 we showed them too much respect. They were there for taking. They were not the best team we have played this season not at all.

“They were incredibly efficient and when you play against them you do realise the individual quality of this team if phenomenal. It just makes it so difficult to close them down.

“It's not the team that's put in the best performance against us but it doesn't mean it's not the best team,” Kompany added.

“If they turn up [in Barcelona] in the next game and play like they're capable of playing then it's a very tough game. If the game is the same as today and we manage to keep away from small fouls we've got a chance.”

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